Colley Cibber
(1671-1757), Dramatist and actorEarly Georgian Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter in 9 portraits
An actor-manager, dramatist and poet laureate, Cibber produced some thirty plays during his long career. From 1709 to 1733, he managed theatre companies at Drury Lane and the Queen's Theatre making him one of the first in a long line of actor-managers who dominated the London theatre scene. Cibber had made his name on the London stage in 1696 playing the foppish character Sir Novelty Fashion in his own play Love's Last Shift. Soon after, he became one of the leading actors of the day. In 1730, Cibber was appointment as Poet Laureate yet his verses had few admirers, particularly Alexander Pope. But even Cibber acknowledged, self-deprecatingly, that he himself did not think much of his verses.
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